High turnover means Nueces County needs jailers

April 23--CORPUS CHRISTI -- The Nueces County Sheriff's Office is looking for a few good corrections officers -- about 35 to be exact -- and they are needed now, Sheriff Jim Kaelin said.

The shortage means the county must pay current corrections officers overtime, which costs the county, and therefore taxpayers, more than paying the salary of a full-time corrections officer, Kaelin said. During a recent pay period, the county paid $50,000 in overtime to corrections officers at the Nueces County Jail. And these staffers must possess a special license to work in a jail, Kaelin said, so they cannot be taken from other departments in the county.

That overtime pay comes from the 35 budgeted salaries of the vacant corrections officers, which is $32,000 per year, Kaelin said. That money is in the county budget for the fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. But in another eight months, those budgeted funds to pay the overtime will be low enough that the sheriff will have to go before Nueces County commissioners to ask for more money, he said.

"The money won't be in the budget, and the county might need to dip into its Rainy Day Fund," Kaelin said. He said he has approximately $600,000 budgeted this year for overtime for corrections officers.

Another factor connected to having enough corrections officers is the state law that mandates jails keep a ratio of 1 corrections officer to 48 inmates. Laws also require jailers must be paid time and a half for overtime and holiday pay, and corrections officers are required to check on inmates twice per hour, Kaelin said.

If that ratio can't be met, then prisoners must be moved to another facility to control overcrowding, the sheriff said.

"I can't put people on the floor. ... I have to do whatever is necessary to maintain that 1:48 ratio," Kaelin said.

He recently had to move 50 Nueces County Jail inmates to the Coastal Bend Corrections Center in Robstown to avoid overcrowding.

If an inmate is injured as a result of overcrowding, it could result in a federal lawsuit, he said.

The recruiting effort is a massive one, and in addition to job fairs, there are plans for county representatives to talk to graduating high school seniors.

The corrections officer job pays $32,000 per year in salary, plus benefits and retirement, which brings the annual package to $40,000 per year.

Benefits include life, health and dental insurance, paid holidays and opportunities for advancement.

One of the biggest reasons for the large number of vacancies is job competition from the oil fields, Kaelin said.

Jobs working for companies connected with the Eagle Ford shale can pay in the $60,000 per year range.

Although many of those jobs don't come with retirement benefits, people want to be able to make money now and are not concerned about the long term, Kaelin said.

Testing for the corrections officer positions is offered each Friday. It's necessary to call the county's Human Resources Department and make an appointment for the testing. For more information go to www.co.nueces.tx.us/sheriff/recruitment.asp.

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